This application claims the priority of German patent document 197 06 398.5 filed Feb. 19, 1997, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a variable roof box for a convertible.
German patent document 43 30 411 C1 discloses a roof box of this class.
However, a disadvantage of this roof box is the very great amount of space required by the folded roof in the trunk of the car.
Furthermore, a car with a folding roof is disclosed in German patent document 195 14 785 A1, in which the roof box, when the roof is in the closed state, forms a part of the rear seat.
Here again, however, the disadvantage is the great amount of space required by the folded roof parts.
Hardtops for convertibles and roof boxes for convertibles are known, for example, from German Offenlegungsschrift 1 505 494. Also, German patent document 40 38 873 relates to a convertible roof of sheet steel with a rear window of glass, wherein the top is divided into a front roof part and a rear roof part. When the car is to be driven with the top down, the two roof parts or top parts are stored in the trunk space of the car. The same applies to German patent document 37 33 892.
Japanese Utility Model publication 62-8818 shows a car with a front roof part and a rear roof part plus a fixed rear window, the roof parts being stored in a roof box.
In these known hardtop convertibles, it is again a disadvantage that the storage of the roof parts plus the folding mechanism corresponding thereto when the roof is retracted requires a considerable amount of trunk space.
Thus, there is a need for a variable roof box for a convertible in which the roof parts, when in the retracted state, i.e., in the open-top state of the car, do not require such a great amount of trunk space, while at the same time retaining the advantages of the use of the roof box as part of the back seat.
This and other needs have been met according to the present invention by providing a variable roof box for a convertible having a front roof part and a rear roof part with a fixed rear window, said front and rear roof parts being movable via a folding linkage between a raised position and a retracted position, the roof box being defined by a foldable portion of a rear seat which is forwardly foldable to enlarge the roof box to receive the front and rear roof parts in the retracted position, wherein the folding mechanism includes a lever having an end rotatably attached to a fixed point which is situated forward of levers of the folding mechanism in the direction of travel, such that when the roof parts are moved to the retracted position the rear roof part is folded down and shifted forward in the direction of travel.
This and other needs have been met according to the present invention by providing a hardtop for a convertible, comprising: a front roof part; a rear roof part hinged to the front roof part; and a folding linkage operatively connected to said front a rear roof parts such that said roof parts are movable between a raised position and a retracted position, said multi-bar linkage comprising: a first lever having a proximal end articulated about a first fixed point; a second lever having a proximal end articulated about a second fixed point; a coupling link rotatably connected to distal ends of the first and second levers, said distal end of the second lever being rotatably connected to said rear roof part; a third lever rotatably connected to said front roof part and to said distal end of the first lever; and a fourth lever having a proximal end articulated about a third fixed point and having a distal end rotatably connected to said rear roof part, said third fixed point being located forward of said first and second fixed points.
This and other needs have been met according to the present invention by providing a hardtop for a convertible, comprising: a front roof part; a rear roof part rotatably connected to the front roof part via a hinge; a folding linkage operatively connected to said front and rear roof parts such that said roof parts are movable between a raised position and a retracted position, wherein in said retracted position said rear roof part is folded underneath said front roof part in a clamshell configuration, with said hinge between the front and rear roof parts being located at a rear end of said clamshell configuration, and with a rearward end point of said rear roof part when in said retracted position being located at a front end of said clamshell configuration.
Providing a crank on the folding mechanism and the connection according to the invention of the crank to the fixed point in front of the levers of the folding mechanism on the one hand and the back roof part on the other permits shifting the rear roof part forward in the direction in which the car moves, ultimately resulting in a reduction of the space required for the folded roof parts in the trunk space.
When the hardtop is folded away it is true that the rear seat space of the car is not available, but the possibility basically exists for carrying persons in the rear seat area when the car is driven with the hardtop down.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.